1. Field of the Invention
In general, this invention falls within the area of accessories for musical instruments and in particular, in the area of accessories for drums. There are many accessories for musical instruments and for drums to aid in drumming or in playing instruments. These accessories include accoutrements that make playing the instrument easier or that improve access to drumsticks. This invention has to do with drum pedals for bass drums and high hat or the like. A number of accessories or accoutrements that are associated with drum pedals are rather limited. Furthermore, there are probably few if any accessories that aid in finding the point of maximum delivery by sensory perception, as does the instant invention. Additionally, there are few if any accessories that are designed to reduce shock to a person""s foot while playing a drum.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,536 to Lombardi discloses a drum pedal which is typical of the drum pedals used in the art. Lombardi has a heel pad 39 which has treads on an upper surface at 39a. Lombardi does not show a foot pad on the main portion of the pedal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,224 also to Lombardi similarly shows a foot pedal or drum with a heel pad that is treaded. U.S. Pat. Nos. 980,488; 902,444; 912,404; 1,570,167; 2,446,508; and 3,125,921 all show treaded coverings that are placed on drum pedals. These coverings are in most cases not pads but rather treads placed on the pedal to help the drummer keep his foot on the pedal. These treaded surfaces most often comprise a repeating pattern of ribs on the layer that is applied to an upper surface of the drum pedal. As shown in these references, the pattern of ribs covers the entire upper surface of the pedal. As such, there is really no distinguishing feature that aids a user in properly locating his or her foot on a drum pedal.
The instant invention comprises a foot pad, which is generally in the shape of a human foot and thus is narrower in the arch region and broader in the areas corresponding to the ball and heal of the foot. This pad is placed on an upper surface of a drum pedal. The pad has a thickness from {fraction (1/16)} inch to one inch, but could be of greater or lesser thickness. The material has to be relatively stiff to respond immediately to the force of the user""s foot, and the thickness should not detract from the proper function or the mechanics of the pedal itself. The most important aspect of the pad is that it includes a protrusion or a rib that is located preferably in a ball portion of the foot pad to lie under the ball of the foot of the user. In this way, the pad enables the user to properly locate his or her foot on the drum pedal. To determine the proper positioning of the foot on the pedal while using the pad requires the user to learn the proper position during use. This is accomplished, for example, when the user repeatedly drums with the pedal and remembers a corresponding result when he or she applies a force to a particular location with respect to the protrusion or rib on the foot pad.
The foot pad of the instant invention may be accomplished by a relatively thin pad having an upper surface and a lower surface and that is shaped generally in the shape of a sole of a foot. The length of the pad is defined in the toe to heel direction, and a width is defined as being transverse to the toe to heel direction. The protrusion may be of any shape. However, in a preferred embodiment the protrusion is a rib extending across the width of the foot pad.
In addition to the protrusion or rib extending upwardly in the upper surface of the foot pad, the upper surface of the foot pad may also comprise traction structure for aiding and keeping the user""s foot on the foot pad.
The foot pad may further comprise a plurality of layers. In a preferred embodiment the rib forming element is in an underlying layer. A protrusion or rib forming element in this embodiment forms a rib when an overlying layer is conformed around the protrusion or rib forming layer. In this way, the rib forming element provides a supporting element over which the overlying layer resides. The rib forming element may be of any configuration or shape. However, in the preferred embodiment the rib forming element has a tetrahedron section and is an elongate element which extends lengthwise across the width of the foot pad.
Expressed in another way, the foot pad of the instant invention may be described as follows. The overlying layer is a substrate and the underlying layer comprises a rib forming element. The foot pad has an outline generally in the shape of a sole. The foot pad is also provided with an adhesive layer for attachment to the drum pedal.
Because the overlying layer or substrate is of a flexible material the rib that is formed in an upper layer of the substrate is of a generally sinuous configuration. In the preferred embodiment this is achieved by the substrate being of an elastomeric foam material and the rib forming element also being of an elastomeric foam material. The substrate is adhesively attached to the rib forming element so that the substrate and the rib forming element apply a continuous resilient force on each other.
As indicated above, the foot pad has a ball portion in which the protrusion or rib is located. The foot pad also has an arch portion corresponding to a mating placement of the user""s arch on the foot pad. A second protrusion or rib may be placed in the arch portion of the foot pad. The second protrusion or rib also aids in positioning the foot on the foot pad. An additional or third rib or protrusion may be placed on a heel portion of the foot pad. This third rib or protrusion helps in elevating the foot slightly during use.
In one embodiment the foot pad may include a third relatively stiff material layer. The third layer lies below the first and second layers and effectively extends the width of the foot pedal while supporting the first and second layers. Additionally this embodiment may include a built up portion around the peripheral edge of the foot pad. This built up portion preferably is provided by additional elements in the second layer.
The tetrahedron cross-section of the rib forming element may be more specifically described as a truncated triangular cross-section. The flexible and elastomeric nature of the foam material of the substrate and the rib forming element provides for or allows the substrate and the rib forming element to conform to each other when they are adhered to each other. In this way, a sinuous rib or a sinusoidally shaped surface is formed in an upper surface of the foot pad. At the same time, the rib forming element has rounded corners on the proximal edges of the truncated triangular section that engage an underside of the substrate; and a lower surface of the base of the truncated triangle forms a smile.
One of the principal purposes of the instant invention is to aid a user in locating his or her foot properly in the foot pedal. An alternative means for doing so is by providing a pair of ribs to be located on the foot pad above and below the ball portion. In this case the first and second ribs are in the form of wedges that slant downwardly and inwardly toward a center of the ball portion. Described in another way, the ball portion of the foot pad has a center, and the ribs extend upwardly and away from the center of the ball portion.
It should be noted that the foot pad may be provided as a single integral unit having a flexible region between the heel portion and the arch portion. This permits hinging motion of the pedal in an uninhibited manner to permit proper use of the foot pedal with the pad in place thereon. Alternatively, and preferably, the foot pad is provided in at least two separate pieces so that the heel piece is separate and detached from the rest of the foot pad which comprises an arch portion and a ball portion.
The method of using the foot pad of the instant invention includes affixing the foot pad to a drum pedal. In this step of the method of use, the user positions the foot pad such that the protrusion for rib is located in the ball portion of the drum pedal. In use, the user feels the protrusion with his or her foot during drumming with the pedal. The user experiences an optimal delivery of force to the foot pedal during drumming and thus learns the sweet spot on the drum pedal and particularly with respect to the protrusion or rib such that he or she may consistently apply the force to the sweet spot on the drum pedal with ease by the enhanced sensory perception that the foot pad and protrusion of the instant invention provides.
The instant invention also enables the user to vary his or her point of striking to selectively vary the force of the individual strokes on the drum pedal. As such, the instant invention enables greater consistency and enables the user to selectively vary the force of drumming. Also, by means of the compressible nature of the foot pad, the instant invention provides or enables greater endurance because of the lower impact on the user""s foot.
In a broader sense, the instant invention comprises a method of drumming with a drum foot pedal that includes locating a protrusion on a ball portion of a drum pedal, then feeling the protrusion with a foot during drumming. Finally the method of drumming includes experiencing an optimal deliver of force in response to applying a drumming force at a particular location on the protrusion.
While the apparatus and method has or will be described for the sake of grammatical fluidity with functional explanations, it is to be expressly understood that the claims, unless expressly formulated under 35 USC 112, are not to be construed as necessarily limited in any way by the construction of xe2x80x9cmeansxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cstepsxe2x80x9d limitations, but are to be accorded the full scope of the meaning and equivalents of the definition provided by the claims under the judicial doctrine of equivalents, and in the case where the claims are expressly formulated under 35 USC 112 are to be accorded full statutory equivalents under 35 USC 112. The invention can be better visualized by turning now to the following drawings wherein like elements are referenced by like numerals.